FCC Seeks Comment on Effects of Derecho Storm on Communications

On June 29, 2012, a fast-moving weather storm called a derecho brought
a wave of destruction across wide swaths of the United
States, beginning in the Midwest
and continuing through the mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the
country. Millions of Americans lost
electrical power during the storm for periods ranging from a few hours to over
a week in the middle of a heat wave, and the storm caused billions of dollars
in physical damage. The storm had a significant
adverse effect on communications services generally and 9-1-1 facilities
particularly. From isolated breakdowns in Ohio,
Kentucky, Indiana,
and Pennsylvania, to systemic failures in northern
Virginia and West Virginia, it appears that a significant
number of 9-1-1 systems and services were partially or completely down for
several days.

The impact of the storm in northern Virginia
was particularly severe, notably in Fairfax
County, parts of Prince
William County,
Manassas Park
and Manassas,
where over 1 million people faced the possibility of not being able to call 9-1-1
successfully. In those jurisdictions, media reports and
local government officials indicate that public safety answering points
(PSAPs), which process calls to 9-1-1 facilities, failed, as did backup systems. Multiple access technologies appear to have
been affected by the outages, including traditional networks, broadband
networks, and wireless networks.

The Public Safety and Homeland
Security Bureau (PSHSB or Bureau) of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC
or Commission) responded immediately, closely coordinating with the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) and constantly communicating with service providers
and other stakeholders from the time the storm hit and throughout the period
impacts were felt by the public. At noon
on Saturday, June 30, the Commission granted an emergency special temporary
authorization allowing a Missouri power
company crew to use certain frequencies to assist in the restoration of
electric power within the Ohio
disaster area.

Utilizing the Commission’s
Operations Center, which is staffed 24 hours a day/7 days a week, and
supplementing it with direct outreach and pre-established reporting protocols,
the Commission obtained important information on communications outages related
to 9-1-1 centers, broadcast stations, and public safety communications systems
that it shared with its Federal partners (e.g.,
FEMA). Vital information on outages also
came through the Commission’s mandatory Network Outage Reporting System (NORS)
and voluntary Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS). At 5:15 p.m. on Saturday, June 30, the
Commission activated DIRS, targeting selected providers with systems in the
disaster area, in this case the District of Columbia
and certain counties in Maryland, Virginia, and West
Virginia. Through
DIRS, the Commission received regular updates on the status of wireline,
wireless, and 9-1-1 communications outages and restoration efforts. As company maintenance crews largely restored
communications services in certain areas, the Commission de-activated DIRS for those
areas on July 3, 2012 and completely deactivated it on July 4, 2012. The Commission also issued on its website and
distributed through social media a consumer tip sheet for the public about
communicating after the derecho, while the effects of the storm were still
being felt.

Immediately after communications
and 9-1-1 services were restored, the Bureau began an inquiry focused on learning
all of the facts and circumstances of the various outages, including the causes
and, importantly, ways to make the public safer and avoid future outages. The Bureau began an ongoing series of meetings
with stakeholders, such as communications service providers, public safety
officials, and others, and continues to seek and obtain relevant information. The Bureau is assessing and evaluating the storm-related
information received through NORS or DIRS, and still coming in through NORS. The Bureau is also coordinating with state and
local governments, which are responsible for establishing and operating 9-1-1
facilities, providing first responder services, and regulating certain relevant
communications services.

By this Public Notice, the
Commission and the Bureau further expand the ongoing inquiry. The Public Notice broadens the inquiry in two
ways, by expanding those who may contribute relevant information to include the
public, and focusing not only on issues directly surrounding the derecho and
what happened during and after it, but also on other experiences associated
with natural disasters throughout the nation that involve outages or are
otherwise related to the resiliency and reliability of communications services
and networks of all kinds that are used to seek, process or obtain emergency
assistance. Especially in the face of
events that lead more people than usual to need emergency help, they must be
able to connect to get it. It is vital
to seek focused comments broadly on what happened during and after this or
other storms, and what can be done to better address these issues going
forward.

Congress has given the Commission a particular
responsibility under the Communications Act to ensure communications networks
of all types "promot[e] safety of life and property.” Central to this important responsibility is
ensuring the reliability, resiliency and availability of communications
networks in times of emergency, including and especially during and immediately
after a natural disaster such as a derecho.
Recognizing this, last year the Commission initiated a proceeding on the
reliability and continuity of communications networks, including broadband
technologies. Information received in connection with this
Public Notice will add important information that will inform the Commission’s
action in this proceeding.